Jesu Juva
“Not Separate, and More than Equal - One”
Text: Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
I don’t know what things were like where you were, but on Friday afternoon the weather changed quite suddenly, dramatically, and unexpectedly at my house. One moment things were calm, and the next a high wind came from out of nowhere and the snow was so heavy it seemed to be coming down in sheets being blown down the street. Almost like a winter derecho blowing through my neighborhood.
Which I think is how the Jewish Christians must have felt when they heard the message of St. Paul that we heard today. And specifically when he said to the Ephesians, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Now we’re used to hearing words like that and teaching like that, so it probably doesn’t have the impact on us now as it did back then. But those words and that teaching was like a derecho blowing through the Jewish Christian community. For to say fellow heirs, same body, partakers of the promise, this was a teaching above and beyond anything they had heard before.
Not that the Jewish Christians didn’t know that Jesus died for all people. They did. But it was more like, to borrow a phrase from our own history, separate but equal. In the Old Testament, Gentiles could become Jews if they wanted, be circumcised and follow the laws of Moses. But they still weren’t descended from Abraham. These Gentile believers could worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, but only so far - only to the Court of the Gentiles. And yes, Jesus had gone among the Samaritans just as He had among the Jews, and at least they were part Jewish . . . but they were still Samaritans. But being of Jewish origin, being descended from Abraham, was still a big deal, still mattered to them.
So when Paul writes to the Ephesians what he had been preaching in all his missionary journeys, this mystery of Christ that he was making known, he’s saying: Fellas, it’s not separate but equal! The Gentiles (and by that he means anyone not descended from Abraham), the Gentiles are fellow heirs, which means they get the same inheritance that we do. Nothing different; no distinction! And members of the same body, which means not just unity, but oneness; not with different blood but with the same blood flowing through us. And partakers of the promise, that although not descended from Abraham, the promise made to Abraham and passed down through the generations they get a share of too! Those words, that teaching, was mind blowing.
But don’t just imagine the violent reaction the Jews who didn’t believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah must have had to those words! Or the shock the Jewish Christians must have felt. Imagine the joy of the Gentiles! To hear not only of a Saviour, but that separate but equal was not a thing with Him! That His inheritance, His kingdom, is for all people. That His blood was not only shed for all people, but all would together receive it in the Sacrament, standing or kneeling not separately, but side-by-side. And that all the promises, all the gifts, all the grace, is for them, too.
You can imagine the derecho this was blowing through the early church!
And we see it already with the story of the Wise Men. They are such an treasured part of the Christmas story, and our nativity scenes would be missing something without them. But maybe we need to appreciate them and what they add to our nativity scenes even more, and not just lump them together with the shepherds as visitors to see Jesus, but realize how important it was to God that they be there. As witnesses and testimony to this truth of St. Paul and all that Jesus had come to do.
Now, we don’t know much about these Wise Men; they come and go quickly. But God worked pretty hard to get them there! First, the seed of His Word was planted among them some time before this, maybe during the time of His people’s exile in Babylon. Then the star - to signal them and lead them to Jesus, that, as Isaiah said, they Arise [and] shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Then the prophecy of Micah, and the testimony of the Chief Priests and Scribes to direct the Wise Men to Bethlehem. And then the appearance of the star again . . . No wonder that when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy! And the Greek there actually says with extreme mega joy! What would be the equivalent of that kind of joy today? I’m not sure. A joy that just can’t be contained. A joy that makes nothing else matter.
No wonder they not only brought but gave Him such costly gifts.
So Jewish shepherds, Gentile Wise Men, fellow heirs, members of the same body, and both alike partakers of the promise. That’s an epiphany! A revelation of how great and comprehensive this child and His work is. Like nothing ever seen or done before.
And now you are part of it, too. As I said before, we’re used to hearing this, so maybe the impact on us isn’t so great as it should be. But think about all the places you can’t go in this world, places you are barred from. Think about all the people who think you less than them, somehow below them, and that you will always be. Think about all the divisions and separations and rankings in our world - not all of which are bad - but that exist. And realize that in Jesus, there is none of that. All of us alike are baptized because all of us need to be. In the Old Testament it was the flesh that was cut OFF that mattered. But now with Jesus it is the flesh that is put ON that matters. That He put on our flesh to redeem us, and that in baptism we now put ON Christ. And now all of us together are fellow heirs, members of the same body, all alike partakers of the promise. No matter who you are or where you are from or what you have done in the past. Jesus’ birth and death and resurrection has overcome all that.
Which also means that when you come up to the altar to receive that same Body and Blood that the Son of God put on and the Wise Men fell down before and worshipped, you do so not as individuals, all separate, all on your own, but together. As one. Rich and poor, men and women, old and young, white collar or blue collar, black, brown, white, red, or yellow skin, all of us standing side-by-side, no one better than another, and all receiving the same gift - the same Body and Blood, the same forgiveness and life, the same inheritance and salvation. It is a marvelous thing to witness, something that happens in very few, if any, other places in the world. This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Which, you know, I say every week after reading the words of the Gospel. To which you respond, as you did this morning, Praise be to Thee, O Lord. But why? Why do you say that? Is it for the words just heard? Certainly. But even more, for the Gospel Jesus has done. That all of us are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and all alike partakers of the promise.
So let’s treat each other that way. I think we do sometimes. I think we don’t sometimes as well. There are distinctions that are meet, right, and salutary, but others that aren’t. There are things that need to be pointed out and dealt with, like false teaching and unholy living, but we shouldn’t delight in the faults and failings of others. Are we as free and generous with the forgiveness we give as we are with the forgiveness we expect? Are we quick to criticize and slow to reconcile? Do we ignore instead of pay attention, and disregard instead of spending time with or for someone? And what else do we need to repent of? How else we do not see and treat each other as fellow heirs, member of the same body, and partakers of the promise?
God wanted the Wise Men there with His Son, and in the same way He wants all of you here today with His Son. He has brought you here, and for some of you, worked very hard to do so! Just like He did with the Wise Men. Because He wants to give you gifts! He wants you to hear those words of forgiveness. He wants you to hear all that He has done for you. And He wants you to receive the Body and Blood of His Son. All of you! That like the Wise Men, you rejoice with extreme mega joy! And not just at Christmas, but all year round and all your life.
So the story of the Wise Men is not just an important part of the Christmas story, but an important part of our salvation story. And a perfect way to transition from the Christmas season now ending, to the Epiphany season now beginning. And just as the appearance of the Wise Men and Paul’s teaching about the Gentiles was like a derecho blowing through the early Church, maybe it can be for us again as well. Not just blowing OUT the sin that has settled into our hearts and lives, in the distinctions and separations we make, and how we treat each other, but also blowing IN the gifts and grace of God, and a renewed appreciation of Christmas, of Epiphany, and all that Jesus has done for us. And that’s the kind of thing that can change a family, a church, a world. It did in the early Church. And it still can. And so be an epiphany not just within these walls, or for a day or a season, but an epiphany for the world, for life, and for all.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
